You make some excellent points. I wonder what the real world experience with whistles as a signaling device has been? I have carried one for years and never had to use it. Any stories?
I've only used them as non-emergency signals. Usually if one of us is recovering from bronchitious or similiar. They're a lot louder then a yell from somebody who's lost their voice or lung capacity.
For comparison, I've only needed a fire extinguisher twice in my life, a smoke alarm once, and called 911 twice (once to report my neighbors playing around with class 1.3 fireworks, and once to report a motorcycle injury accident). I put the whistle in with them in the same I-may-never-need-it,-but-if-I-do,-it-will-be-a-life-and-death-situation catagory.